1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roll-out flooring for covering ice surfaces of any size. It is often desirable to convert the use of an ice surface into a non-slip, safe walking surface, for example, in a stadium or an arena to utilize the space for a different event or purpose, and after the event is over, to quickly reconvert the surface back to the ice surface in order to optimize the use of the stadium or arena. It might also be desirable to provide only a portion of an ice surface with a walking area, for example, to facilitate safe walking during an award ceremony or intermission entertainment at an ice skating or ice hockey event.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to cover an ice surface with a porous system made from plywood or Homasote.RTM., which is known to absorb moisture and dirt and which deteriorates over time, and is cumbersome, difficult and time consuming to install and remove.
It is also known to provide ground coverings to temporarily utilize an outdoor area to provide a safe and stable surface for people to walk on and for equipment such as exhibit stands, podiums, tables and chairs, to stand on. Such ground covering is also provided to protect an expensive astroturf surface. It is also known to provide portable roll-out lengths of flooring which can be quickly mounted together to form entire floors of almost any size. Such roll-out floor is disclosed by applicants in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/547,800 and application Ser. No. 08/861,977, which specification is herewith incorporated by reference. However, none of the these latter discussed roll-out ground coverings are suitable for a unique surface such as ice. Although the placement of such roll-out coverings could provide a safe walkway on ice, it would not be an efficient, economical or sturdy enough cover to convert such surface into a space useful for non-ice related functions and events such as exhibitions or different sport activities. Even if such known floor covering would be rolled onto an ice surface, it would have certain drawbacks: first, the ice surface would not be thermally insulated and it would be uncomfortably cold and/or damp for people to stand on the surface for a long period of time, second, considerable energy is necessary to maintain the ice surface even though not utilized during the time the surface is converted for walking, third, the floor covering might slide if only portions of the ice were covered, and fourth, such single layer coverings would notbe rugged enough to stand the stress of utility and installation vehicles.